No Slaughter Of Cows, Buffaloes Without Certification; Only Elderly Or Permanently Incapacitated Animals Eligible: WB Govt
The West Bengal Government has issued a fresh public notice reiterating the guidelines governing animal slaughter under the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, pursuant to directions passed by the Calcutta High Court in pending proceedings concerning illegal slaughter practices in the State.The notice, issued on May 13 by the Home & Hill Affairs Department, refers to orders...
The West Bengal Government has issued a fresh public notice reiterating the guidelines governing animal slaughter under the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, pursuant to directions passed by the Calcutta High Court in pending proceedings concerning illegal slaughter practices in the State.
The notice, issued on May 13 by the Home & Hill Affairs Department, refers to orders passed by the Calcutta High Court in Rajashree Choudhury v. State of West Bengal & Ors. and lays down detailed instructions to ensure compliance with the 1950 Act.
The State clarified that no person shall slaughter any animals (meaning bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, buffaloes and buffalo calves) unless a certificate is first obtained from the prescribed authority certifying that the animal is fit for slaughter.
According to the notification, such certification may only be granted if the Chairman of a Municipality or the Sabhapati of a Panchayat Samiti, along with a Government Veterinary Surgeon, jointly record an opinion in writing that the animal is over 14 years of age or has become permanently incapacitated due to old age, injury, deformity or incurable disease.
The notice further states that if certification is refused, the aggrieved person may prefer an appeal before the State Government within 15 days from the communication of the refusal.
Significantly, the Government has also directed that slaughter pursuant to such certificates can take place only in a Municipal Slaughter House or any slaughter house specifically identified by the local administration. Open public slaughter has been “strictly prohibited”.
The public notice additionally empowers authorised officials to inspect premises for implementation of the 1950 Act and cautions that any resistance to such inspection would amount to violation of the law.
It also reiterates the penal consequences under the statute, stating that contravention of the provisions may attract imprisonment up to six months, fine up to Rs. 1,000, or both. The offences under the Act are cognizable.
The Government said that the directions have been issued in compliance with orders dated August 21, 2018 and June 8, 2022 passed by the Calcutta High Court in the matter concerning enforcement of slaughter control regulations in the State.